Brazilian Girls - eponymous

I love this album. It's excellent background music when you want to feel chill, maybe dance a little, but just a little, kind of just swaying back and forth, mostly just enjoy hanging out. When I put this album on, I feel like there are instantly a bunch of very cool people in my apartment, being mellow and having a lot of fun doing not a whole lot. Kind of keeps me company. Really good on a cold night like tonight when I just want to stay in, but feel like I'm still having a good Friday night.

I don't know much about the Brazilian Girls. I bought this album a few years ago after I heard one of the singles on the radio, and it's been on top of the cd pile in my house since then. It's a good one to have on standby when you can't think of anything else you want to listen to. You don't have to fast forward any tracks, 'cause they're all good. There's a consistent atmosphere of lots of layers, including a droning keyboard, that all work together, but allow for a nice amount of variation too. The lead singer seems to be comfortable in French, English, and Spanish, which is fun. She's got a nice, sultry voice, but never gets too corny, keeps it light.

If you have kids, I need to warn you that not all of their lyrics are PG - they might invite some conversations that you aren't ready for, or you might find your toddler has memorized lyrics you really don't want him to sing in public. But as long as you keep it to yourself, this is a great album to have around. Let me know if you want it!

A Tribe Called Quest - "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm"

It's Fall 1991, and I'm a freshman in college. I'm in the other freshman dorm, Barrows. Dozens of us are packed into someone's small, cinderblock dorm room. The lights are off and people are dancing - we're all a bit giddy but trying to play it cool. And then someone puts on this song.....at first it sounds familiar - isn't that a Lou Reed track? But then clearly it's not. It's so good, I have no idea what it is, but everyone else seems to - there are lots of hands in the air, lots of "Oh, shit!" in that particular way that acknowledges an understood coolness.

I feel like we listened to "Can I Kick It?" and "Bonita Applebum" on repeat that night, but that might just be my nostalgia getting carried away. All I know for sure is that hearing those two tracks for the first time that night was the beginning of a big shift for me. At that point, I was still way more into jumping into mosh pits and flailing around than actually dancing to any hip hop or r&b. And I'd never even heard of house music. (That would change, but that's for another post.)

Even after that dorm party, it took me a little while to fully catch the bug and fall for hip hop. By the time I was converted, A Tribe Called Quest had come out with their second album, "The Low End Theory," which I memorized like it was scripture. Then came "Midnight Marauders," which was also amazing. So it was only after playing those albums 'til they started to wear out that I went back to "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" to see what else had been on that first album other than those two incredible singles.

It's too bad that this album has such a long title - that's really the only fault I can find with it. Other than that, it is just fantastic - it's fun, it's creative, it's surprising, it's political, and it's silly. Yes, silly. A track called "Ham n Eggs"?! Another called "Pubic Enemy"? Oh, the promise that this album showed when it ushered in the golden age of hip hop (that would be 1990 - 1995, if you didn't know :). It's good to go back to these roots and reflect on all that has come since then. And it's so much fun. You have to have this album in your collection if you love hip hop, as long as you don't need to take it all too seriously. If you don't have it, let me know - once I safely copy and back up the whole thing for posterity, it'll be on it's way to you.

Spoon - "Ga Ga Ga Ga"

My last post got me in a rock sort of mood, so I decided to pick up this Spoon cd and bring it with me in the car this weekend. This band got a lot of hype last year, and so I bought the album. It's a'ight. But really, I don't think it's anything to write home about. I wanted to like it more than I do. I imagine that if I had some nostalgic connection to any of these songs, that would make me more attached to them. Or even if I was from Austin, TX and had watched them try to make it for so long and was proud of them for finally hitting it sorta big.

But neither of those things are true for me, so my verdict is that this is just a totally okay rock album. I can't really say that they hit me in any particular way, or that they have defined a sound that is very distinct. The only song that I really get into is "The Underdog," which I think is trying to be kind of political. Maybe it's their anthem against George W. Bush? But maybe I'm reading into it to justify liking it. It's kind of an indie rock take on Billy Joel. There's lots of clapping and stuff, and it's very reminiscent of "Only the Good Die Young." Why that makes me like it, I don't know. It's just a fun song, and makes me want to get up and dance. Which none of their other tunes do.

So there you have it. If you're trying to build your rock collection, or you have some sort of nostalgic or emotional affinity for Spoon, I would be so happy to send you this album. For now, I'm going to copy "The Underdog" and leave it at that.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Show Your Bones"

Alright, alright, I'm back. For real. The Lo Fi Life Project is officially back ON. We have a new President, the Inauguration was an unbelievable experience, and life is moving on. In many confusing ways, but moving on. I've been struggling to regain momentum for the Lo Fi Life Project, and never thought that a day of being grumpy would do the trick. But here I am.

I've been grumpy most of the day because I stayed up too late watching the Duke v. UNC game last night. Totally worth it, excellent game, and the right team one. But I'm paying for it. So this evening when I had to motivate to cook, I grabbed this Yeah Yeah Yeahs cd and literally threw it on. Oh man, chopping vegetables to this album was really perfect for my bad mood. It worked like a charm.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs rock. Literally. This is straight up rock, a full court press from start to finish, the intensity never lets up. It's also complex enough to keep things interesting. There are lots of inferences and straight up borrowings throughout, but they're pared down and spliced together in ways that just work. When I first heard the track "Phenomena," I couldn't quite remember where I knew the mantra "something like a phenomenon baby, something like a phenomenon" from, so I texted my sister, and she wrote back immediately: "De La Soul, duh." They throw all kinds of licks in there. And it works.

I've got a short list of bands I wish I'd already seen live, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are up near the top. I've heard that Karen O, the singer and frontwoman of the band, goes nuts on stage. It's not hard to imagine. The hard driving beats and catchy licks that switch up all over the place, and together come out strong and sexy, would lend themselves to a crazy show.

I'll admit that I have some bias toward this band, given that Karen O and drummer Brian Chase met at Oberlin in the late '90s. But that's not clouding my judgment here. At least I don't think so - tell me if you beg to differ. I'm amazed that they've only put out two full albums so far (the next one is supposed to come out this April), because I think they've already established their sound and presence so well. I'm keepin this whole album for sure, and I have a feeling it'll stand the test of time. It's definitely good for screaming along to while chopping onions in a grumpy mood. Let me know if you need a soundtrack for that kind of a day.